Chapter 27
KYLIE
Ihad offered to pick Luc up at Logan when he arrived back from his road trip, but he had left his car parked in the airport garage.
Yes, I only felt comfortable offering because Kelsey and Sam weren’t returning with the team, otherwise I wouldn’t dare.
Sam had a family emergency, and they were driving back the following day.
I hated this boundary, but I didn’t feel like I could back down. Maybe it would allow me to keep my emotions at bay? It would remind me, at the very least, not to get completely invested in him.
Lily and I had plenty of in-depth conversations, many of them centered around my ability to have an orgasm with him when I had struggled even by myself.
No, I didn’t tell her that I got off on him tying me up, but she knew enough.
And yeah, she warned me again about orgasms and oxytocin.
Was I going to heed her warning? Doubtful.
Every night after we hung up, I tried to masturbate.
I still never achieved an orgasm. But Luc crooked his finger at me, and my entire body quivered and shook.
My mind went blank every single time he touched me.
And while that should have been enough to make me run, instead, it had me standing outside his house and punching in the door code.
Luc: Landed. Be home in about an hour.
Me: Okay. I just got here. Should I feed Liam? He’s asking for something.
Luc: Check the note on the counter. Denise usually leaves a note with the last time he ate, she knows how much of a manipulator he is.
Luc: Speaking of food, are you hungry?
Me: I could eat.
Luc: Wanna get Thai food?
Me: Sure. Love Thai.
I wanted to screenshot the text conversation and send it to Lily as proof that he wasn’t hiding me away. We went out, we dated. I wasn’t his secret, but I’d made him mine.
I found the note left by Denise.
Luc,
Liam was great company for me while you were away. The first day he wandered into the spare bedroom. That’s an interesting piece of art. Were those skis?
I almost dropped the damned note paper. Did Denise see the St. Andrew’s Cross? And she had no idea what it was? I forced myself to pick the note back up and continued reading it.
Other than that day, he was at the door waiting for me. There were no issues eating this time and I cleaned his litter box for you this morning. He ate twice today, don’t let him trick you!
Liam is just as sweet as his Daddy.
Your favorite crazy neighbor lady,
Denise
Now I had to meet Denise. Was she flirting with Luc?
Me: What is your relationship with Denise?
Luc: Did you meet her?
Me: No, but her note was a little flirty.
Luc: In person she’s a little handsy. But harmless.
Me: What do you mean handsy?
Luc: She behaves the same way most 75 year old women do with me. They flirt, give extra long hugs, and find plenty of opportunities to pat my ass.
Me: I don’t know how I feel about that.
Luc: You are more than welcome to tell her to keep her hands off your man. But she might stop watching Liam.
Me: OMG. You trade ass pats for pet sitting?
Luc: Never thought of it that way. Hey, I’m pulling up out front. Let’s go right to dinner so I don’t need to park twice.
Me: Out in 2.
I grabbed my belt bag, shut off as many lights as I could, and ran out the front door.
“Hey.” I leaned across the console and kissed Luc. His hand pulled me in to deepen the kiss before I could move away. His tongue swept my mouth; I met his urgency with my own. A flash of arousal sparked, and I wished we had taken time to reconnect before dinner.
“I love your skirt.” Luc’s eyes darted down to my legs, where the mini-skirt I had worn had ridden up. Yeah, that was the reaction I had hoped for. “What’s under it?”
“I’m good at following directions. Nothing.”
“Good girl.”
My face warmed with the compliment as his eyes met mine.
“I missed you,” I said.
“I missed you, too.” After Luc merged into traffic, his hand rested on the console, palm up, an invitation. I placed my hand in his, interlacing our fingers, and sat back.
The Thai restaurant was one of the few places in the city with a dedicated parking lot. Luc eased the Audi into a spot and ran around the car to open my door.
His eyes darted between my legs as I eased out of the car. “Are you trying to get a sneak peak?”
“Maybe. But I’m also blocking you from any prying eyes.”
I flushed at the thought that someone might see us.
“I noticed you like the idea of being watched but said it was a maybe to no when you filled out the questionnaire. Can you clarify?”
“I like the idea that we could be caught or even watched. However, I would prefer to remain anonymous. My biggest nightmare is that something would get posted on social media, and my dad would see it.”
“Well, since public sex could lead to both our arrests, there are limits to what I would be willing to try, also.”
Luc checked in with the host, and we followed her to a quiet table for two. I glanced at the cocktail menu and giggled as I planned my drink order.
When the waiter returned to offer us drinks, Luc’s eyes bulged out of his head as I requested the Thai Me Up specialty cocktail. Once we had our drinks, we placed our food orders and turned our focus on each other.
“Okay, tell me what you do all day at work. I want to know everything. The good, the bad, even the boring.”
To his credit, Luc maintained eye contact, asked relevant questions, and genuinely seemed interested in the field of epidemiology.
“For now, I have an entry-level disease assignment. Mostly pushing paper. But after six months, I’ll have an option to prove myself.”
“You’ll do it.”
I heard the pride in his voice and wondered how he could be proud of me with my job when his ex-wife was one of the most famous women in the country.
“Ky?”
“Yeah?”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Umm—I am comparing myself to your ex-wife.”
“Stop.”
His eyes bore into me. There was no question, just a command. I shook off the thoughts about Skylar, taking a deep breath, and refocused on our conversation.
“Where do you see your career in five years?”
This was something I had thought about non-stop since I moved back from Washington. I had turned down a couple of jobs on the West Coast that might have offered quicker growth, but those opportunities meant nothing because they were so far from my family.
“I hope to be promoted and maybe eventually lead the team. I’m where I want to be but at the lowest rung of the ladder. What about you?”
“I had planned to play baseball, not coach it. But I shattered my elbow in a career-ending injury my rookie year. When I switched to coaching, Sky had hoped it would be a passing phase. What she missed is that coaching means more to me than playing ever did. I don’t do it because I’m trying to hold onto what I missed.
I do it because it is part of who I am.”
“I tore my ACL playing soccer my senior year. I might be able to play pickup in a beer league, but my competitive days are behind me.”
Luc studied me. “Huh. I should have asked you more about your injury. It seems we have more in common than I thought.”
“Kelsey, Kendra, and I were all fortunate to have enough athletic skills to earn college scholarships. Kelsey ran, I played soccer, and Kenny played lacrosse. Kelsey’s degree got upended by Crew, but she has a plan to finish.”
I silently hoped that Kelsey’s relationship with Sam didn’t derail what she had planned for her future. But more than that, I hoped that if her plans did change, that they matched what she wanted from life.
“It’s the most heartbreaking part of professional sports. Every time I see an athlete leaving the field injured, I know what’s running through their heads.”
“Is this the end?” Luc asked rhetorically, and I could see the emotion in his eyes.
“I didn’t have a pro career waiting for me, but soccer was my heart and soul until it wasn’t. It took a long time for me to find something else that fulfilled me. Studying for my degree helped, but it was hard to replace the adrenaline rush I got on the field.”
“What do you do to stay in shape now?”
“I run and lift. What about you?”
“I take advantage of the team training rooms for weight training and run.”
We ate our dinner and continued to make small talk. As his hand found my knee under the table, I lost track of what I was saying. His eyes crinkled in amusement as his fingers danced along my inner thigh.
“What do you think, Kylie? You think I can make you come right here and now?”
My eyes darted around the restaurant; there were only two other tables of customers, and the staff was distracted. My knees parted on reflex, and I laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I have absolutely no control over my body when I’m with you.”
“That’s because I do.”
My eyes darted to his, and Luc’s playful expression turned molten; my head nodded in agreement. He did.
“How wet are you for me?”
“Very wet.”
“Oh, come on. You can do better than that.”
“Soaking wet,” I whispered.
Luc’s fingers found my slick folds, and he continued to talk to me, seeming unbothered by anything.
“Keep your face neutral, baby girl. Make any sound, and we have to stop, got it?” As if to illustrate his point, Luc stopped moving his fingers.
“Yes. Please, sir, don’t stop.”
A quick glance around assured me that his hand was well-hidden. My reaction would be the only thing that would give us away.
His finger slowly circled my clit as he stared impassively at the front of the restaurant.
“Do you think about me when you do this to yourself?”
I took a long breath, trying not to let my voice crack as I responded.
“It doesn’t work by myself.”
“Still?” His eyes found mine just as his finger picked up the pace.
I shook my head and grimaced in frustration.
Luc removed his fingers and quickly motioned for the check.
Stunned, I stared at him. “What was that?”
“It’s time to go home. We’ve got work to do.”
Luc paid the bill in record time and ushered me towards the exit. I waited until he was on the road to speak.
“What is it we have to work on?”
He ignored my question.
“You’ll have to trust me, won’t you?”